


His Third Wish

by sunwoo



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunwoo/pseuds/sunwoo
Summary: Sunwoo finds a magic lamp, and the genie inside grants him three wishes. The genie’s rules are as follows: The genie cannot kill anyone. The genie cannot bring people back from the dead. The genie cannot make anyone fall in love.





	His Third Wish

Sunwoo had no idea why it was so cold when it was the middle of spring.

It was usually quite warm during this time of the year, but the wind on this particular day was strong enough to make anyone want to return to the warmth of their home in an instant. Sunwoo’s cold hands found their place in his jacket pockets as Eric ran up behind him and lightly shoved him to the side. Sunwoo noticed that Eric had a milkshake in his hand, almost empty.

“Dude, I told you to wait for me at the door,” Eric said, out of breath.

Sunwoo looked over at him and said, “Well, it’s not like I was that far away. The door’s a few feet away.”

“Still!” Eric said, and they began walking together.

“Okay, okay, sorry, I guess. Why are you so tired anyways? It was only a few feet,” Sunwoo asked. He mentally told himself that he had only gave a short and meaningless apology so that Eric wouldn’t bring it up again, but he knew, in his heart, that he truly did feel bad for his rude remark.

Eric scoffed. “Easy for you to say, jock. You spend all of your time outside playing stupid soccer, whereas I, an obvious intellectual, spend my time playing video games.”

“Stupid?” Sunwoo stopped in his tracks abruptly. “Let’s see who calls soccer ‘stupid’ when it gives me a full ride to college in a few years.”

Eric just stared at Sunwoo for a moment before smiling and grabbing his shoulder. “Right. Maybe you’ll even tell me that you told me so.” Eric wasn’t taking him seriously.

Sunwoo thought for a moment before replying, “right.”

Eric took the last few sips of his milkshake before aiming for a nearby trash can and missing by almost an entire yard. “Dude, did you see that? I almost made it!” Eric yelled, and when Sunwoo expected him to go pick it up and place it in the trash can, he didn’t.

Sunwoo couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but it wasn’t the first time he had felt his way towards Eric. That’s how Eric always acted. Eric came to class late; Sunwoo distracted their professor while Eric snuck in, unnoticed. Eric forgot about meeting up for a group project; Sunwoo did the entire project himself. Eric left his wallet at home; Sunwoo lent him money that he knew Eric would never pay back. Eric messed up; Sunwoo fixed it.

“Hey, dude, I forgot I had to go buy something. Meet me at the bus stop in a minute?” Sunwoo asked, and Eric nodded without a word.

Eric kept walking on the sidewalk, and once Sunwoo lost sight of him as he turned the corner, he walked over to the empty milkshake cup, grabbed it, and sighed as he threw it in the trash can. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a stray plastic wrapper against the wall of the alley wall next to the small convenience store Eric was in, just moments ago. Sunwoo, being someone who cares about the environment as much as the next guy, went out of his way to pick it up, as well.

Just as he reached over, a white-colored cat jumped out from behind a cardboard box about a foot away, causing for Sunwoo to be startled and step back quickly.

“Just a harmless cat,” he muttered to himself as he picked up the wrapper. He wanted to go throw it away as soon as possible and go find Eric before he took too long, but his eyes were attracted to the cardboard box for some a reason he couldn’t quite understand, and before he knew it, curiosity got to him, and Sunwoo was peaking into the box.

There was a lamp inside, and the first thing he noticed was that it seemed like it came right out of a fairytale. The wind suddenly got cold again, and Sunwoo rubbed his hands together for a second before picking up the lamp. It was adorned with jewels that shined brighter than anything else in the alleyway, and it definitely contrasted the rest of the lamp which was covered in so much dust that he wondered how long it had been in that box.

Sunwoo wasn’t one to believe in fairytales, but he wasn’t about to leave without at least trying to get something out of finding the lamp either. His right hand, slightly shaking, rubbed the lamp as he shut his eyes tightly.

He didn’t hear anything. He slowly opened his eyes, and looked in front of him, then at the lamp in confusion. “Nothing happened. Well, it was just a regular, old lamp anyways.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, kid,” a deep voice said behind him, and Sunwoo yelled as loud as he could. He dropped the lamp on the ground, and his hands instinctively clamped around his mouth, which was wide open in shock, and turned around. To his surprise, he came face to face—more like face to mystifyingly blue-colored chest—with something he had never seen before.

The thing in front of Sunwoo glared at him as the lamp fell to the ground. “Oh, come on! I just refurnished the place!”

Sunwoo didn’t say anything.

“What? Cat got your tongue? Wait, wait! Even better! Genie got your tongue! Get it? Because I’m a ge— look, kid, are you going to say something or what?” The genie said and paused for a split second. “You know, I’ve never met anyone who’s been silent like this when I first met them. Usually kids your age start going over what wishes they want granted.”

Sunwoo’s hands slowly fell to his sides. “You grant wishes?”

“Oh, he speaks!” The genie yelled in excitement. “Yes, I do, kid. That’s why I’m here, but before you start thinking up some fantastic wishes, as a part of what I live by, I have to tell you the rules, so listen up, and don’t interrupt me. You got that, kid?”

Sunwoo nodded.

“They’re simple. The first rule is that I cannot kill anyone. If you got problems with anybody that are so serious you’re thinking about killing them, fix them yourself, kid. The second rule is that I cannot bring people back from the dead. That’s just creepy. I mean, who wants some famous poet to suddenly come back and start rhyming with every step he takes? You get me?”

Sunwoo nodded again, cleared his throat, and said, “yeah.”

“Alright, and the last rule is that I cannot make anyone fall in love. Not that you’d need that, I mean, you probably already have a girlfriend, so you don’t need that, right?”

Sunwoo didn’t say anything, and the genie snapped his fingers.

“You swing the other way?”

Sunwoo remained silent.

“Ah, you swing both ways!”

Sunwoo shyly nodded, before adding, “I’m not dating anyone though, and trust me, wishing for someone to fall in love with me is the last thing on my mind. I have more important things I could wish for.”

The genie bowed with a smile and said, “your wish is my command.”

“Uh, actually can this wait? I have to go find my friend,” Sunwoo said. He was pointing out of the alleyway to signal he had to go, and the genie replied, “Sure, kid. Just remember you’re stuck with me until we get through all three wishes, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, now let’s go. Eric must be worried.” Sunwoo jogged out of the alleyway, looking both ways to make sure no one was there to question why he was even in there in the first place, and headed in the direction of the bus stop.

Eric was not worried.

In fact, Eric was sitting on the bench and talking to their mutual friend, Hyunjoon. As soon as Sunwoo walked over, Hyunjoon smiled at him. “Hey, Sun! What’s up?”

“Oh, uh, nothing. Eric and I are waiting for the bus. That’s all,” Sunwoo responded, earning a simple nod from Hyunjoon.

“Bus should be here any second now,” Eric added, and Sunwoo tried as hard as he could to hide his frown. Eric didn’t ask what took him so long, Eric didn’t ask what Sunwoo had bought, and Sunwoo didn’t want to show that he was obviously upset by it. Sure, he would be nervous if he had to come up with a reasonable excuse on the spot if Eric had asked, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t ask, and that was one more thing added to the list of disappointing things Eric has done.

“Oh, I just remembered! Haknyeon hyung asked if you guys wanted to meet before class tomorrow,” Hyunjoon said, and Eric immediately answered, “I’m down. What about you, Sunwoo?”

“I have soccer practice at six,” Sunwoo stated. Eric was supposed to know that. Sunwoo had already told him that he had practice every morning until his big soccer game. “But I can meet up with you guys for a few minutes before class.”

“Got you. Okay, well,” Hyunjoon started. “Haknyeon hyung went to that new food place near the school, and they have student discounts this entire week. We should go.”

When Sunwoo and Eric both agreed to the plans, Hyunjoon was about to say something else, but the bus soon pulled over to the bus stop.

“See you guys tomorrow!” He smiled at the both of them, and the two boys got onto the bus.

Since Sunwoo and Eric lived in the same neighborhood, they often went out on days Sunwoo didn’t go to work and rode the bus home together, and even though Sunwoo grew accustomed to it, the silent rides home were something he could never become used to.

Everyday, he saw something new, and he loved it. Last week, he saw a little girl begging her mother to let her have the window seat, and it reminded Sunwoo of the field trip to the mountains in the fourth grade when Hyunjoon had sat in the window seat on the bus, saw a spider on the window, and started fake crying so that someone would switch seats with him. Hyunjoon had asked Haknyeon, knowing he was the most likely out of the group to pity him and switch seats, but Haknyeon declined, saying he wanted to sit with Sunwoo. Today, he saw a man, maybe six or seven years older than him and Eric, with a large suitcase, and it reminded him of all those times Haknyeon had went on vacation to other countries, asking Sunwoo and his parents to come with his family, which he politely rejected before even telling his parents about it.

Seeing different things that have brought so many memories back to him, made Sunwoo feel comforted with the world. He wondered if Eric also liked to remember times from their childhood.

When the bus finally stopped in front of their neighborhood, Sunwoo and Eric jumped off, and Eric almost ran right into the bus stop pole.

The first few seconds of walking were quiet until Eric cursed, “shit, I forgot we have a math test tomorrow. Sunwoo, can I borrow your notes?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sunwoo said, and thankfully his house was closer than Eric’s, so when they got there, he put his hands out in front of him and said, “wait here. I’ll go get them really quick.”

Eric nodded, and Sunwoo jogged over, pulling out his house key from his back pocket at the same time. He unlocked the door, and (thankfully, he had left his backpack on the dining room table when he had left in a hurry earlier) found his math notes. When Sunwoo jogged back over to Eric, all Eric said was: “thanks, bro, I really owe you one.”

But Eric owed Sunwoo a lot of things.

Sunwoo stood there in the cold for a minute, waiting until he couldn’t see Eric’s silhouette anymore before he turned back into his home.

“Honey, was that Eric?” His mother’s voice was heard from the kitchen.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah,” Sunwoo said, quickly removing his backpack from the table before he got scolded for it.

His mother stepped out for a second to reply to him. She was wearing a very old black shirt which didn’t seem to fit her very well, and Sunwoo wondered where it was from because he had never seen it before, and it obviously wasn’t brand new. “Why didn’t you invite him in? You left him out in the cold.”

“It was only for a second, mom,” Sunwoo sighed. “He just wanted my notes so he could study.”

His mother hummed to show she understood, and Sunwoo was already halfway up the stairs when he heard her say, “Sunwoo, honey, dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t you stay here instead of going up to your room?”

“I’m not hungry,” Sunwoo lied.

“You can’t just skip—“ his mother started, and he didn’t want to start an argument right then and there, so he said, “I have to study, mom. Huge math test, and super huge soccer game tomorrow. Plus, I have work in two days. I need to sleep early.”

His mother sighed, “oh, alright, but eat a good breakfast tomorrow, sweetie.”

Sunwoo continued up to his room with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. He hated being so emotional sometimes, but living like this made it harder and harder.

He lied, and he’s lied so much in the past. It’s hard to have to be the one working, with school and soccer still on the side, in order to help his family, and he wished someone knew what it was like.

Eric didn’t know what it’s like. Eric’s dad earned a lot of money, and Eric wouldn’t have had half the gaming equipment he had without that. Hyunjoon didn’t know what it’s like. Hyunjoon had two older sisters, so as the youngest, he was handed everything on a silver platter. Haknyeon didn’t know what it’s like. Haknyeon’s parents made enough money to make two trips to far-away countries every year. They didn’t know what it’s like because Sunwoo doesn’t have any fancy technology, Sunwoo doesn’t have any siblings, and Sunwoo’s never even been farther away from home than on the fifth grade field trip to the beach.

He sat in silence. He sat there until he finally decided to go start studying because if only one thing is going good for him, it was his grades in school.

“So, why exactly were you crying?”

Sunwoo jumped up, and shouted, “shit!” as he turned around and found the same genie from earlier.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, kid, but why were you crying?” The genie repeated his question, and Sunwoo blinked.

“I, uh— um, no reason. I mean, I wasn’t crying,” he paused. “Wait, you’re still here?”

The genie looked at Sunwoo in disbelief. “Of course I’m still here! You haven’t wished for anything yet.”

“Oh, right,” Sunwoo said quietly. “Hold on. Can anyone else hear you? Because I really don’t want my mom to think I brought someone here without her knowing. I’d be so dead.”

“Just you, kid. It’s pretty cool if you ask me. It’s like I’m a voice inside your head. I can be like the little devil and little angel on both your shoulders like they do in the cartoons!” The genie exclaimed, and Sunwoo almost shushed him. “But back to the wish.”

Sunwoo was so sick and tired of all the pressure being put on him. School and his job were putting so much on him at the moment, but soccer helped him to calm down from it.

“My wish…”

He wasn’t the best player, but he loved that sport more than anything.

“I think I wish…”

Not only did he absolutely adore soccer, but some college scouts have been looking at a few of the players on his team, including him, for a few months, and Sunwoo needed that one little push to get their attention solely on him, but if his parents couldn’t afford to eat three meals a day for a week straight, how would he even get to college? He needed a scholarship to go to college. He knew that. His parents knew that.

“I wish for me to score the winning goal in tomorrow’s soccer game.”

The genie smiled and bowed. “Your wish is my command.”

Sunwoo was about to say something after that, but his phone started ringing from where he had left it on the bed. The caller ID read Haknyeon’s name, and Sunwoo answered, “hello?”

“Sunwoo! Hyunjoon told me you and Eric are meeting up with us tomorrow morning before class?” Haknyeon’s voice happily asked for confirmation.

“Yeah, but I have soccer practice at six, so I’ll be a little late, but I promise I’ll see you guys right before class starts,” Sunwoo said with a smile even though he knew Haknyeon wouldn’t see it.

Haknyeon’s sweet voice answered, “Okay! Good luck tomorrow! You have a game, right?”

Haknyeon remembered.

“Yeah, I do, actually. Thanks, Haknyeon hyung. I really appreciate the support more than you know,” Sunwoo said. The smile on his face brightened up when Haknyeon asked about the game that not even Eric remembered about.

“Anything for my favorite soccer player,” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo looked down at his feet. “I’ll come by, okay? I wanna be there to see you win.”

Sunwoo nodded enthusiastically to himself. “Yeah, yeah. I’d really like that. It starts at six thirty, but you can come a little early for a good seat.”

“Okay!” Haknyeon said cheerfully, and Sunwoo swore he could hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll tell Hyunjoon and Eric, and we’ll all be there to cheer you on.”

Sunwoo had forgotten about Hyunjoon and Eric. Haknyeon was the only person on his mind while he heard his voice through the phone. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, hyung.”

“See you tomorrow, Sunwoo. I’ll wish you luck again tomorrow!” Haknyeon said, and with that, he hung up.

Sunwoo looked at his phone’s screen and turned it off only a second later.

“Who was that? You sounded very happy talking to that person,” the genie said, and Sunwoo was startled for what seemed like the hundredth time.

“I keep on forgetting you’re here,” Sunwoo said, before answering. “It was my friend, Haknyeon hyung.”

“He must be a very good friend if he made you happy after you cried your eyes out right in front of me,” the genie said, and Sunwoo looked up in shock.

“I did not cry my eyes out!” He yelled, wincing immediately afterwards when he realized his parents could’ve heard him.

“Whatever you say, kid. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some peace and quiet now. Go to sleep or something. You need it for tomorrow,” the genie told him.

The genie was right. He did need sleep, and he couldn’t study for tomorrow’s math test even if he wanted to because he let Eric borrow his notes, and playing soccer on not so many hours of sleep is a horrible feeling Sunwoo knew a little too well.

Sunwoo was about to ask the genie if he was going to float there and watch him sleep, but before he could, he watched the genie fly back into his lamp, which now laid on the carpet.

The next morning, Sunwoo’s alarm clock woke him up. Birds were chirping outside, and Sunwoo groaned as he regretted not closing the curtains the night before.

His eyes darted over to his alarm clock, (thankfully, it was silent now) the time read 5:00, and he stretched his arms over his head tiredly.

“Are we leaving yet? It is so boring here,” the genie stated.

Sunwoo looked around his room. “Um, you literally have magic. Couldn’t you have… come up with someone to do with your magic?” He asked.

The genie scoffed. “Seriously. Are we leaving yet?”

“I just woke up,” Sunwoo said, sitting up on his bed. He looked over at his closet and sighed. “It won’t take long. Just… I don’t know. Stay here, and I’ll tell you when we’re leaving.”

The genie didn’t say anything to that, and Sunwoo took it as he understood. After getting ready for school and avoiding his mother, who was offering him breakfast, in the kitchen, he grabbed an apple for later and headed out the door, making sure the genie was trailing behind.

Sunwoo has just made it to the bus stop when he got a text from Eric. It read: “Meet us in front of the fountain at eight.” He didn’t reply because as soon as he finished reading it, the bus pulled over, and he stepped in.

Soccer practice was tiring. It always was, but Sunwoo still loved it. He found more fun in trying to study in his head for upcoming assessments while practicing, and even though it had once ended up in him falling face first into a bush when he was trying to recall a really long equation, he still did it everytime.

He was passing the ball to one of his teammates when the genie suddenly spoke up. “You know you don’t have to do all this? Your wish is going to come true regardless, so what’s the point?”

Sunwoo took a few steps away from the field, so that no one would hear him talking to not a real person, and answered, “The point is I still want to feel like it was my doing. I like it here anyways.”

He would’ve went into a far more detailed response than that, but he was out of breath, and he had to leave any minute now.

When he and genie left, they were on their way to go see Sunwoo’s friends. It was 7:56, so he was sure they’d all be glad that he showed up a few minutes earlier than planned. Sunwoo turned the corner, and when the three boys were in sight, the genie asked him who was who.

Sunwoo didn’t know why the genie cared, but nonetheless, he quickly pointed at each one and named them, which thankfully came unnoticed.

Haknyeon was the first to notice Sunwoo, and he smiled before saying, “guys, here comes the star soccer player.”

In Sunwoo’s heart, he felt warm and happy that Haknyeon was always complimenting him on his sports skills, since it seemed no one else cared about them.

Hyunjoon and Eric turned to meet him, and both greeted him.

“Told you guys I’d make it,” Sunwoo stated, adjusting his backpack strap which hung on one shoulder.

“This is great, Sunwoo, we were just talking about where we should go to celebrate your win tonight,” Hyunjoon said, and Sunwoo looked at all of them.

“Really? Wow, guys, you really don’t have to,” he said, shaking his head.

Haknyeon perked up. “No, no, we want to! You deserve it!”

Sunwoo tilted his head to the side. “Come on! It’s really not that big of a deal if I win.”

“Uh, yeah it is,” Eric stated. “If your team wins, it means the school finally has its first soccer trophy, and they’ll finally shut up about the shitty football team.”

“Yeah,” Sunwoo nodded slowly.

“And,” Haknyeon started, “the college scouts will really like you, Sunwoo! They’re gonna be there, right?”

Haknyeon remembered that there would be college scouts at Sunwoo’s soccer game.

“Yep,” Sunwoo said. “I hope so.”

Hyunjoon put his hands in his pockets and said, “we should get going. Class starts soon, and I kinda wanted to study right before the test.”

“You guys have a test?” Haknyeon asked, and the three boys nodded.

“Math,” Eric said. “And I’d probably fail if Mr. Soccer Player over here,” he grabbed Sunwoo’s shoulder, “hadn’t let me use his notes last night.”

Haknyeon smiled, which Sunwoo returned. Hyunjoon then told them to hurry to class before they got in trouble for standing around.

The math test was incredibly easy. Sunwoo flew through every question, and he was surprised that he hadn’t even studied the night before.

Eric spent the rest of the school day talking about how he guessed on the second question, which got old very quickly. Unsurprisingly, bringing it up every five minutes didn’t help his grade, but yet, the soccer game was the only thing on Sunwoo’s mind. He was going over the drills over and over again in his head until he was sure he knew exactly where to be at the right time in almost any situation, so by the time he had his soccer uniform on and was standing next to the bleachers, he knew he was ready.

The game started in five minutes, and his friends weren’t there yet. Eric might’ve forgotten just like he had forgotten that Sunwoo even had a game that day. Hyunjoon might’ve forgotten about it, too.

Suddenly, Sunwoo heard Haknyeon’s voice shout, “Sunwoo! We’re here!”

He looked over his shoulder and saw the three boys jogging in his direction. A smile appeared on his face as they came to a stop in front of him. “I thought you guys forgot about my game.”

“Forget?” Haknyeon asked. “How could we forget? I’m sorry we’re late. The test results were up, and Eric had to go check.”

Sunwoo nodded in Eric’s direction. “I got an A, bro! Isn’t that great?” Eric asked in excitement.

“Yeah! That’s really good,” Sunwoo responded. He was about to ask if any of them had checked his score for him, but his coach blew the whistle, announcing that the game was about to start.

“Oh, guys,” Sunwoo started. He had laid out his backpack on the front of the bleachers earlier and now taken it off and placed it on the ground against the bleachers next to them. “I saved you seats.”

“Thanks, Sun,” Hyunjoon said, and they all sat down. “Crap, we forgot snacks. Eric, come with me to the vending machine?”

Eric nodded, and the two slowly walked in the direction of the school building. Sunwoo looked at them walk away, only to find, in the corner of his eye, the college scouts holding black pens and clipboards.

“Are those the college scouts?” Haknyeon asked after he followed Sunwoo’s trail of sight. “They look intimidating.”

“Yeah, but I got this,” Sunwoo said. “And, uh, thanks for coming, hyung. Really. I appreciate it a lot. Eric and Hyunjoon never really show up unless you bring them with you.”

There was a moment of silence, and Sunwoo quickly added, “I gotta go now. Game’s about to start.”

Haknyeon shouted, “good luck!” and Sunwoo gave him a small smile in return, jogging over to his teammates.

There were only a few minutes left in the game. The score was at 0-0, and Sunwoo knew that he had to score the goal any second now. He was incredibly focused on  
the game, but he still managed to glance at his friends in the bleachers a few times. Each time, they gave him a few thumbs up to show their support, and it only made Sunwoo want to win even more.

One of his teammates passed him the ball, and Sunwoo almost cursed. He avoided the other team as he got closer and closer to scoring, and when the same teammate from earlier had motioned for him to kick the ball back over, Sunwoo looked at the opposing team’s goalie before kicking the ball in with all his might.

Everything after that felt like it was playing in slow motion for him. Everyone on the field came to a stop, some people cheering on the bleachers began to stand up, the ball hit the net, the goalie jumped to block it just a second too late, someone behind him announced that the time was up, and Sunwoo’s jaw dropped.

Before he knew it, he was being held up by his entire team. Everyone was chanting his name. Everyone loved him in that moment, and Sunwoo wished he could feel that forever.

Someone had handed him the trophy, and Sunwoo looked at in awe.

He had never won anything like it before. He had won plenty of those honor roll awards for the past few years, but half the school got those. This trophy was only for him.

When the team put him down, Sunwoo’s friends rushed over to congratulate him, and he had never felt happier, but that didn’t last very long when he remembered his wish for the genie.

“I’ll meet up with you guys in a minute. I’m gonna go change really quick,” Sunwoo told them as soon as the excitement from everyone around him died down.

Haknyeon handed him his backpack, and he walked over to the locker rooms. There, he sat in silence.

It wasn’t his doing. The genie had made that happen. All those rough hours of practicing every morning before school meant nothing.

Sunwoo looked at the trophy on the opposite end of the bench he was sitting on.

If it wasn’t his doing, did he really win the trophy?

Sunwoo let his thoughts slip away as he got ready to go meet his friends outside. He put the trophy in his backpack and left as quickly as possible. Two college scouts were waiting for him right outside, and they asked Sunwoo if he was #19 on the team. When he said he was, they told him they were impressed with how he played that day. After being given a few college pamphlets, Sunwoo walked away, trying to hide the smile on his face.

“Okay, so movies or food?” Hyunjoon asked. They were all walking on the sidewalk away from their school, and they still hadn’t decided what to do in order to celebrate Sunwoo’s win.

“Let Sunwoo choose!” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo thought about the two options.

“There’s that new superhero movie we can watch,” Sunwoo stated, and Eric grinned. Sunwoo had remembered that Eric has been wanting to see that movie ever since it came out the week before.

“Great, let's go watch it! I’ve been dying to see it,” Eric said. His voice then sounded more serious than excited when he added, “And it’s not just a superhero movie.”

Hyunjoon groaned. “Shut up, Eric. Not everyone’s obsessed with that shit.”

“It’s not an obsession!” Eric shouted in shock. “It’s called being dedicated!”

Hyunjoon hummed in annoyance, and Haknyeon spoke up. “You all are so annoying.”

“That’s what you get when your only friends are all a year younger than you,” Eric said, and Haknyeon didn’t say anything at first, but he then came up with something to say.

“Right, sorry. I always forget that people from the 20th century are less annoying than you, 21st century kids,” Haknyeon said jokingly, and Eric gasped.

“Take that back right now!” He shouted, and Sunwoo couldn’t help but laugh. His friends were always getting into fun arguments that never turned into anything ugly, and he liked watching them happen right before him.

When they got to the movie theater, Haknyeon offered to pay for all of their tickets and popcorn, and Sunwoo had told him he’d rather pay for himself. Haknyeon smiled at him, told him he deserves it, and Sunwoo couldn’t say “no” to him with that.

Sunwoo, Hyunjoon, and Eric were standing next to the huge movie posters, when the genie appeared next to Sunwoo. Sunwoo was about to give him a look that showed he couldn’t talk right now, but the genie spoke.

“Hey, kid. Just letting you know that you still have two wishes left, so let me know when you’re ready for the next wish,” he said, and Sunwoo glanced at Hyunjoon and Eric quickly before nodding in the genie’s direction.

Haknyeon then came back with tickets, snacks and drinks for the whole group, and Sunwoo was worried that Haknyeon had spent too much money on them.

Only four minutes into the movie, Eric had finished all his popcorn and wanted more, but he said he would much rather starve than miss a part of the movie, so he had asked Sunwoo to go get him some more.

Sunwoo couldn’t not do it, so he stood up, Haknyeon following close behind.

“I felt bad watching you go by yourself,” Haknyeon stated as soon as they were in the lobby again. “Plus, that movie’s kinda boring.”

“We’re only a few minutes into the movie,” Sunwoo said, beginning to take out a couple of dollars to pay for Eric’s popcorn. “The backstory is always boring.”

“I hope they start fighting soon!” Haknyeon said, excitedly. “But I don’t know how much longer it’s gonna take before I fall asleep though.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sunwoo replied, monotone.

Haknyeon frowned. “Do you not like it here? This was supposed to be for you. We can all leave if you want to do something else.”

“No, no. I do like it here. I don’t want to leave, plus Eric’s totally into the movie,” Sunwoo reassured him while grabbing the popcorn from the counter.

“It’s always Eric, right?” Haknyeon asked.

Sunwoo’s eyes looked away from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and hyung, as much as I like talking to you, Eric’s gonna be pissed if we don’t get back soon.”

“See! There it is! It’s always about Eric!” Haknyeon stated, loudly. “Why is it always about Eric?”

“I don’t… I don’t really—”

“You don’t think other people notice, do you? Why are you always doing everything for Eric when he never does anything for you, Sunwoo?” Haknyeon asked, and Sunwoo felt his eyes locked on the floor tiles.

Sunwoo shrugged and said, “we should get back to the movie, hyung.”

“Sunwoo, look at me,” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo slowly looked up at him. He expected Haknyeon to be angry at him, but he didn’t look angry. “If Eric doesn’t return favors or treat you like a real friend would, then he isn’t a good friend to you.”

“Hyung—” Sunwoo started, but was immediately cut off.

“Sunwoo, be honest with me. Why do you always do what Eric says when you know he isn’t treating you well in return?” Haknyeon asked.

Sunwoo started to cry silently. He felt like a complete idiot, crying in a movie theater lobby while holding a bucket of popcorn.

Haknyeon grabbed the popcorn, placed it next to them, and hugged Sunwoo. He stood there and held him until he had stopped crying. He didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed for having to hug his crying friend in public.

Sunwoo sniffled a while after, “because you guys are my only friends. I have to do stuff for you guys so you’re still my friends.”

“Sunwoo, don’t think like that. You don’t deserve to be treated the way Eric treats you. Hyunjoon never fucking does anything either. If you feel better now, we can leave and do something you want to do. You can choose,” Haknyeon said.

Sunwoo nodded. He looked up for the first time since he began to cry, and he weakly pointed at the popcorn. “What about the popcorn?”

“You bought it. You eat it. Eric can figure out how to get some on his own. Now, let’s go,” Haknyeon grabbed the popcorn and led Sunwoo outside.

The two sat on a bench right outside the movie theater, and Haknyeon spent a minute or two sending Eric a text as to why he and Sunwoo left so abruptly. Sunwoo was wiping his eyes, eating a piece of popcorn every few seconds as he waited for Haknyeon to finish.

“So, where do you want to go?” Haknyeon asked, and Sunwoo shrugged his shoulders. “Come on, choose anything, and we’ll go there.”

Sunwoo thought for a second. “Can we go to the park?”

“Of course,” Haknyeon smiled. “It’s not far so we can walk.”

So they did. They walked for a couple minutes until they reached the park, somehow eating the entire bucket of popcorn along the way. The first person they saw was an ice cream vendor, which caused for Sunwoo to immediately turn to Haknyeon with a smile. “Can we get ice cream?”

That was the first time Sunwoo had smiled since they were at the movie theater.

Haknyeon walked up and payed for the both of them, and after that, they walked along the path, enjoying the peacefulness. A few moments later, a large dog ran past the two, startling Sunwoo, who immediately hooked his arm around Haknyeon’s.

Haknyeon laughed, “you’re afraid of dogs?”

“Hyung, it’s not funny! It could bite my entire face off!”

Sunwoo didn’t unhook his arm from Haknyeon’s, and Haknyeon didn’t force Sunwoo off of him either. They spent the rest of the night walking like that.

Sunwoo had never cried in front of his friends before. He had never been hugged and held by one of his friends, never been told that he deserved to be treated well by one of his friends before, never felt so comfortable with being so close to one of his friends before that day.

Later that night, Haknyeon walked him home. They didn’t see Eric or Hyunjoon on the way there, and Sunwoo now knew that he liked being in Haknyeon’s company without Eric and Hyunjoon.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay? By the fountain,” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo nodded.

“I have work tomorrow after school,” Sunwoo said. “So I’ll look forward to it, hyung.”

Haknyeon smiled and waved as Sunwoo turned around to head into his house.

Sunwoo’s parents were already asleep, so he had to quietly go up the stairs and into his room without making any sudden movements. He was almost there, when he heard a whispering voice say: “so, have you chosen your next wish yet?”

Sunwoo yelled, “what the—“ before realizing he was yelling. He looked to his left, only to see the genie. Sunwoo heard something in his parents’ room like footsteps, so he darted into his room and closed the door before either of his parents saw him.

He waited for a few seconds there against the door, until there was nothing but complete silence. “You didn’t have to scare me like that.”

“Hey, kid, not my fault you get scared so easily. I’m convinced that the second a snake looks at you, you’re going to faint,” the genie stated.

“That is not true! I work at the pet store down the street, and I don’t faint!” Sunwoo whisper-yelled in defense.

“Oh yeah?” the genie crossed his arms. “Why animals do you work with?”

“All of them, but I only really only touch the rabbits... but it doesn’t matter because I’ve never fainted so—”

“Okay, okay, whatever, kid. I’m still waiting for the second wish,” the genie said, and Sunwoo said, “oh, yeah, I forgot.”

Sunwoo wasn’t really sure what to wish for next. He would be fine at school. He would be fine at home, too. Then, it hit him.

His parents are always struggling to pay bills and to pay food, which is why Sunwoo had gotten a job in the first place. Everyone had told him it would be difficult to maintain school, a job, and an extracurricular activity like soccer, but he did it anyways to help his parents. The only job he would apply for that was in walking or bus distance from both his home and school, was as an employee at a pet store, but he wasn’t getting paid enough for his parents to eat three meals a day. All he wanted was to be able to give back to his parents for once.

“I wish for a promotion at work,” he said, and the genie bowed.

“Your wish is my command,” and with that, he flied right back into his lamp, which had remained untouched all day.

Sunwoo couldn’t sleep.

He tossed and turned in his bed, but he just couldn’t fall asleep, no matter how much he tried.

He was thinking too much. He was thinking about the college scouts at his game, about how he never checked what grade he received on his math test, about how he had left Eric and Hyunjoon at the movies, and about Haknyeon.

Haknyeon was so kind to him that day. He always was. Sunwoo didn’t even know why Haknyeon was friends with him, Eric, and Hyunjoon when they were all a year younger than him, but he was grateful for Haknyeon.

The next morning, he had forgotten how he had fallen asleep. He knew it had happened at some point before midnight, though, so he hoped he had gotten enough sleep for the day.

School went by quickly. Eric apologized for everything he had done. He said something about ‘not realizing he has being a bad friend,’ and Sunwoo accepted his apology. He was glad that he hadn’t lost his friends, and Haknyeon told him that even if Eric and Hyunjoon weren’t always there for him, he would be.

On the way to work, the genie was trailing behind Sunwoo as the boy made sure his tucked in shirt looked presentable. At first, the genie was silent, but as minutes passed, he became impatient.

“Are we there yet? I’m bored,” the genie complained, and Sunwoo looked back at him with confusion on his face.

“At least you’re not the one walking here. You’re floating—levitating, or whatever you call it,” Sunwoo replied.

“I said I was bored, not tired, kid,” the genie responded and Sunwoo rolled his eyes.

“You act way more childish than I do, and you’re the one calling me a kid,” Sunwoo said, and the genie was about to say something back, but Sunwoo quickly added, “Crap, we’re here. Please don’t do anything to embarrass me. School is one thing, but work is another. Please.”

As Sunwoo walked through the automatic doors of the store, he looked down to make sure he had his name tag on correctly. (He had made the mistake of putting his name tag on upside down on his first day and had not once wondered why every customer he had spoken to that day titled their heads at his chest before asking a question.)

“Hey, Sunwoo,” Sunwoo’s co-worker, Younghoon, smiled as he walked in.

“Oh, hi, Younghoon hyung. What’s up?” Sunwoo asked, and he watched Younghoon lift his hands to show him the money he was holding.

Younghoon motioned towards the cash register in front of him. “The usual. How was school?”

“Good. Uh, great, actually. Is our boss here?” Sunwoo asked.

Younghoon shook his head. “He went out to do old man stuff. It’s nice to finally hear sounds in this place that aren’t his yells. It’s been a while though so he should be back soon.”

Sunwoo laughed, “yeah. Well, I’m going to the back. Come get me if you need help.”

“Gotcha,” Younghoon smiled, and Sunwoo headed to the back room to go get some boxes with merchandise to set up.

Only a few minutes had passed before he heard loud talking at the front of the store, coming from a far too obvious voice.

“Kim Sunwoo!” his boss yelled. “Come to my office this instant!”

Sunwoo sighed and put down the box he was holding. As he headed towards his boss’ office, he took a mental note of which aisles needed cleaning.

The door to the office was open, so Sunwoo didn’t bother knocking. “You wanted to see me?”

His boss looked up and fixed the glasses on his face. “Ah, yes. Take a seat, and close the door behind you.”

Sunwoo did as he was told, and even though he was almost completely positive that he was about to receive the promotion he wished for, his hands were still sweating and slightly shaking.

“How have things been here lately?” his boss asked, and Sunwoo cleared his throat.

“Well, uh, things are good. I just restocked the cat toys in aisle four, and last week I reorganized aisle five so the brand new treats are right next to the display, and sales have gone up for those treats since then.”

Sunwoo’s boss nodded and sat back in his chair. “You know, Sunwoo, you do a lot for my store. I feel like I don’t give back as much as I should for all your work, so I’ve decided to give you a raise. How’s ten extra dollars an hour sound?”

“T-ten?” Sunwoo’s eyes widened. “Yes, oh my God, thank you so much. Thank you. This would help me so much. I’m so grateful. Thank you.”

On the way back to where he had left the box of cat toys, he had a small, but bright smile on his face. Sunwoo thought about how much this promotion would help get more money for his parents, and the thought of being able to put food on the table for them made him happier than he’s felt in a while.

“What are you smiling about?”

Sunwoo looked over up and saw Haknyeon. “Hyung! What are you doing here?”

“I asked you a question first,” Haknyeon smiled.

“Oh, nothing,” Sunwoo said.

Haknyeon shook his head. “It obviously wasn’t nothing if it made you smile. I like seeing you smile, so I wanna know what it was that made you happy.”

With anyone else, Sunwoo would’ve repeated himself and said it really was nothing so he would be left alone, but with Haknyeon, it was different. He felt like he could tell Haknyeon anything without being judged or feeling ashamed.

“I got a raise,” Sunwoo said, looking down at the floor. “It’s really gonna help me and my parents.”

“That’s amazing!” Haknyeon smiled. “I’m so proud of you! You deserve it, Sunwoo. I know you work hard for hours here, and I’m really so so happy for you.”

Sunwoo looked up at his smiling friend. “You’re… happy for me?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” Haknyeon asked, and Sunwoo shrugged his shoulders and began to play with the ends of his shirt sleeves.

“I don’t…” Sunwoo’s voice was quiet. “I don’t think anyone’s ever been happy for me before.”

Haknyeon gently grabbed Sunwoo’s right hand and held it in his own. “Lots of people are happy for you. They just don’t tell you. Your parents are happy for you for working so hard. The school is happy for you for winning the last soccer game. I’m happy for you. I always am.”

Sunwoo softly smiled. He looked down at his hand in Haknyeon’s, and then back at him. “Thank you, hyung.”

“Anytime,” Haknyeon said. “I should leave you to do your work now before you get in trouble.”

He let go of Sunwoo’s hand, and Sunwoo tried his best not to visually frown. “Hyung, wait.”

“Yeah?”

“You never answered my question. Why are you here?” Sunwoo asked.

Haknyeon smiled once again. “I wanted to see you.”

Later that night, as Sunwoo and Younghoon were about to close the store, Younghoon had asked, “hey, who was that boy who you were talking to earlier?”

His question took Sunwoo by surprise. “Oh, he’s my friend. We go to school together.”

“You must be really close friends then,” Younghoon said. “I saw you holding hands.”

Sunwoo felt his face grow hot, and he wondered why he was blushing at the simple thought of Haknyeon. “Um, yeah, he’s, like, my only real friend right now.”

“Cool,” Younghoon stated, finishing up what he was working on at the cash register.

Sunwoo was done for the night, so he had locked the back door and headed for the front of the store.

“Night, hyung,” he said, and Younghoon gave him a smile.

“Good night.”

Sunwoo was about to walk out of the store when he heard, “Sunwoo.”

He turned around, and Younghoon was still smiling at him. “You and your friend look cute together.”

It wasn’t until Sunwoo got home and sat down on his bed that he thought about what Younghoon had said, and as he laid there, he also thought of Haknyeon. As a matter of fact, he thought a lot about Haknyeon lately, but he wasn’t sure why. Haknyeon was just so kind to him all the time, and Sunwoo felt happy knowing he had a friend like him.

“Where do you go when you’re done granting my wishes?” Sunwoo quietly asked, hoping that the genie had heard him.

It was silent for a few seconds, and Sunwoo was about to repeat his question, when the genie answered: “Why do you want to know?”

“Just curious,” Sunwoo said. He flipped his body from left to right in an attempt to get sleepy quicker. “I guess.”

“I go back into my lamp, and my lamp relocated to somewhere someone who needs me will find me,” the genie said.

“Oh. Why why were you—I mean, your lamp—in a box in an alley?” Sunwoo closed his eyes as he spoke.

“You ask a lot of questions. That reminds me. Have you chosen your last wish yet?” the genie asked, but Sunwoo had fallen asleep.

Sunwoo had hoped to sleep as much as possible and rush to school because of how tired he was from work the night before, but his phone buzzed a half hour before he usually woke up.

He groaned, weakly reaching over to get his phone. “Who the fuck would text me so early in the morning?”

The screen was too bright even though his phone’s brightness was set to the lowest possible setting. He sat up and open the window curtains so light could come in.

“Hey sunwoo can u send me the math hw? thx,” Eric’s text message read, and Sunwoo rubbed his right eye.

He walked over to get his backpack and started looking for the math homework Eric wanted when his phone buzzed again.

“Also can u pls pls pls send me the history hw too? TT i didnt do it,” Eric’s next message read, and Sunwoo wanted to be angry at the fact that Eric woke up him so early just to ask for homework answers that he didn’t even attempt, but he just took pictures of the worksheets and sent them to Eric as if it were nothing.

Because it was nothing to him. Haknyeon had told him that he shouldn’t do everything for Eric, but Sunwoo wanted to. He had to. If he didn’t, Eric wouldn’t be his friend anymore. Hyunjoon wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore either. Sunwoo didn’t want to lose his friends.

“Are they actually your friends?” a voice in Sunwoo’s mind asked, but he pushed it away. The voice didn’t know what it was talking about. They were his friends. They were.

As soon as Sunwoo stepped on campus, Haknyeon ran over to him, grabbing him by his backpack strap. “You gotta come see this.”

Sunwoo let himself get dragged over to wherever Haknyeon was leading him. It turned out he led him right in front of his math class, where Eric stood with a couple of other boys, including Hyunjoon.

Sunwoo was confused as to why Haknyeon had brought him there. He looked over at Haknyeon, but Haknyeon didn’t back look at him. Haknyeon’s eyes were fixed on Eric and the group of boys around him.

“And number seven is 67 over 81. Yeah, you can look at his work,” Eric said, and the boys laughed and whispered amongst themselves. Eric laughed along, following with a: “Just copy all of it down. Sunwoo won’t mind. He always gives me the answers anyways.”

Suddenly, Sunwoo understood why Haknyeon brought him there. “Oh,” he said. “I’m gonna go to the vending machine, hyung.”

“Sunwoo,” Haknyeon stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder, his eyes never leaving Eric. “You need to tell him to stop.”

“No, it’s okay,” Sunwoo said, but it wasn’t okay.

“Sunwoo, Eric isn’t your real friend. He’s… he’s using you. You have to tell him you don’t want to see him anymore, that you’re not his friend,” Haknyeon said, finally looking at Sunwoo.

Sunwoo did his absolute best to look emotionless as he looked at Haknyeon. “Hyung, you’re exaggerating. If anything, I’m glad he’s giving them all my homework answers. They’re all failing the class, and they all probably really need a couple good homework grades, and—”

“Sunwoo, come here.” Haknyeon grabbed Sunwoo’s left hand, and Sunwoo felt his face grow hot at the thought of his classmates seeing Haknyeon hold his hand. “You’re going to go over there, and tell him how it makes you feel.”

“Hyung, it’s really nothing,” Sunwoo said, and Haknyeon shook his head.

“Sunwoo,” Haknyeon softly said, tracing small shapes on his hand with his thumb. “You don’t have to pretend. You can tell me the truth.”

Sunwoo looked into Haknyeon’s eyes, and he felt the same way he had felt the day they were in the movie theater lobby. “It…” he said, looking down. Sunwoo saw their hands, the blue-colored tiles, the lint on the bottoms of the lockers. “It hurts. Has Eric been using me this whole time? For stupid math homework answers?”

“Sunwoo, go over there and tell Eric how you feel. Don’t do it for me. Do it for you,” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo looked at the clock on the wall opposite of them. Class started in a couple minutes.

Sunwoo then looked at Haknyeon. He saw someone who cared for him, who was happy for him, who was proud of him.

“Okay, I’ll… I’ll do it,” Sunwoo said. He stared at Eric, who was still sharing answers. He walked over, and Eric hadn’t looked up, but he sensed someone came over.

“You want the math answers? They’re practically guaranteed to be correct because I got them from Sun—“ Eric looked up. “Oh, shit. Sunwoo, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Neither did I, but looks like we’re both full of surprises, huh?” Sunwoo said, taking a step forward as a few of the boys around them stopped copying his answers and looked up at him. “Listen, Eric. I don’t want you to ever talk to me again. Don’t text me. Don’t call me. Don’t show up to my house anymore, got it?”

Eric stayed silent.

“And whatever this,” Sunwoo motioned towards the people around them. “is… it’s over, Eric. I’m never helping you with school work again,” and with that, Sunwoo stormed off, heading towards Haknyeon.

“Sunwoo, are you okay?” Haknyeon asked as Sunwoo passed by.

Sunwoo didn’t stop walking. He only slowed down next to him, and he wanted to nod and give him a thumbs up, but Haknyeon knew him too well. Haknyeon would know that he was lying, so Sunwoo shook his head as he felt his eyes start to tear up.

Sunwoo didn’t want to cry in a school hallway. People were already going to talk about him after hearing what he said to Eric, and crying immediately after it would make it worse, so before he could process what happened, Sunwoo ran to the nearest bathroom.

As soon as he ran in, he threw his backpack off and faced the wall opposite of the door. Haknyeon ran in right behind him, placing Sunwoo’s backpack gently against the wall and pulled him into a hug.

Tears began streaming down Sunwoo’s face as he wrapped his arms around Haknyeon, not caring if his crying was loud or if someone else was in the bathroom, witnessing it all because even though he didn’t want anyone else to see him, he felt safe in Haknyeon’s arms.

It was like the movie theater lobby all over again, except this time, Sunwoo held on to Haknyeon so tight, he was sure he wasn’t allowing Haknyeon to breathe.

The bell, signaling that class just started, rang. Sunwoo sniffed, wiping his tear-stained face with one of his hands. “Hyung, you’re late for class. Go.”

Haknyeon caressed the side of Sunwoo’s face, which remained against his shoulder. “I’m not leaving you, Sunwoo.”

“Hyung,” Sunwoo said, pulling away from Haknyeon to look at him properly. “You’re missing class. You should go. Really. You can’t miss class. Not for me.”

“I’d do anything for you, to make sure you’re okay. Missing class is nothing. I’m not leaving you,” Haknyeon smiled at him, wiping his cheeks from tears. “Do you want to skip school today?”

“Skip… skip school? Hyung, you never skip school. You haven’t missed a day of school this year. What about your perfect attendance—” Sunwoo asked, and Haknyeon cut him off by pressing his lips onto Sunwoo’s for only a mere second.

“Let’s go, Sunwoo,” he smiled, already walking towards the bathroom exit. Sunwoo stood there in shock. Haknyeon had kissed him. Haknyeon, his hyung who has always been there for him and who made him happier than anyone else ever had, had kissed him.

Sunwoo snapped out of his train of thought, picking up his backpack and putting it on quickly. As he was about to leave, he looked at himself in one of the mirrors. It was obvious he had been crying a few moments ago, so he was glad he wouldn’t have to show his face in school that day. He slowly moved his fingers up to his lips, making him remember how Haknyeon’s felt against his.

He jogged over to where Haknyeon was waiting for him, and they left campus. Haknyeon immediately asked, “where do you want to go?” as soon as they were outside.

“I don’t know,” Sunwoo said, going out of his way for a second to step on a leaf. “Can we pass by the mall? I kinda need to buy new shoes for soccer.”

“Okay, let’s go then,” Haknyeon said.

Sunwoo wanted to ask him why he kissed him in the school bathroom. He wanted to know if it meant something to Haknyeon, like it meant something to him, but Haknyeon broke the silence before Sunwoo could decide whether or not he was going to ask him about the kiss or not.

“Eric was never a good friend to either of us, you know? I think he only hung out with me for my money. I always knew I had more than you all did, but I didn’t know he only liked me for my money. He’s toxic.”

“Like Britney Spears’ song?” Sunwoo asked.

“Yes—wait, what? No. No!” Haknyeon said, looking over at Sunwoo who was smiling at him, making him laugh. “You know what I meant, Sunwoo.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunwoo said, lightly shoving Haknyeon with his arm. “Thank you, by the way. For skipping school with me, and for the other day at the movie theater, too. You’re always there for me, hyung.”

Haknyeon glanced over with a grin on his face. “Aw, are you gonna get emotional?”

“No,” Sunwoo said, scoffing. “Why would I?” He immediately diverted Haknyeon’s attention to a group of geese in a nearby parking lot. “Look, hyung! There’s geese!”

Haknyeon looked over at the geese and said, “you’re probably scared of them.”

“Am not,” Sunwoo replied.

“Oh yeah, well, one of them’s heading in your direction.”

“Wait, what? Where?” Sunwoo quickly wrapped both his arms around Haknyeon’s arm. “Where is it? It’s gonna eat me. It’s gonna eat me right here, right now, isn’t it?”

Haknyeon giggled at the younger boy who clung to him in an instant. “I was kidding, Sunwoo. Don’t let go, though. I like this.”

Sunwoo turned red and only let go with one arm, the other now loosely linked with Haknyeon’s. “One day, an animal is actually going to eat me, you know,” he said, hoping that a joke would change the conversation.

“Probably, but I’d fight it first,” Haknyeon said, and Sunwoo smiled in comfort.

As soon as the two got to the mall, Sunwoo noticed that everyone there was really old, which shouldn’t have been much of a surprise since everyone else was at school.

“Sunwoo, I’m gonna go to the bathroom really quick. Wait for me here?” Haknyeon asked, and Sunwoo nodded.

Sunwoo sat down on a bench where Haknyeon had left him, and immediately checked his phone. He opened his text messages, opened his messages with Eric, and typed “hey, what did i miss in math today?” and when he was about to press send, he realized he couldn’t do that.

“Oh, yeah,” he said out loud, to no one in particular. He couldn’t text Eric anymore. He couldn’t call Eric anymore. He couldn’t ride the bus home with Eric anymore.

“You good, kid?” the genie’s voice said, behind Sunwoo, making him jump, almost dropping his phone in the process.

“Stop doing that!” Sunwoo groaned. The people around him looked over in confusion as there was no one he could have been talking to. Sunwoo quickly raised his phone up to his ear to make it look like he was talking on the phone.

He turned to face the genie. “Where have you been anyways? I haven’t seen or heard you all day.”

“Where have I been? I’ve been waiting for you to use your third wish, so I can grant it. Have you figured it out yet?” the genie asked.

With everything that had happened that morning, Sunwoo had completely forgotten about his third wish. “No,” he said. “Not yet. At least, I don’t think so. It’s the last one, so I think it should be the most important.”

“Well, I don’t have forever—actually, scratch that. I’m immortal, but you don’t have forever, and I don’t want to spend the next couple years waiting for you to make up your mind, kid, so hurry up, will you?”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Sunwoo said. He wanted to wish for something between him and Haknyeon. He knew he couldn’t wish for Haknyeon to like him the way he liked Haknyeon, but before, he could tell the genie that he had an idea of what he wanted, Haknyeon came back.

“Who’re you talking to?” Haknyeon asked, sitting down next to him and wrapping an arm around him.

“Oh, um,” Sunwoo randomly pressed his finger onto his screen, hoping that Haknyeon couldn’t tell that his phone was turned off. “No one.”

“Okay, well, we can go to the store you wanted to go to now,” Haknyeon smiled, and as the two walked across the mall towards the show store Sunwoo wanted to go to, Sunwoo couldn’t help but steal glances of Haknyeon, wishing to hold his hand and show everyone that he liked him more than anything, despite the fact that he knew Haknyeon couldn’t possible feel the same way about him as Sunwoo felt about him.

The shoe store they were heading towards was really expensive, and Sunwoo felt out of place. He had never been in a store like it, but he was sure Haknyeon had since his parents had lots of money. More than Sunwoo’s parents did.

A couple years in the past, Sunwoo would’ve called such a store “unnecessary” because he could easily buy shoes at other stores for cheaper, more reasonable prices, but after going through so many shoes for soccer, he now decided to give in to buying shoes that would likely last him longer.

Sunwoo looked over at Haknyeon, who was looking over all the different colored shoes Sunwoo could choose from.

Haknyeon could buy anything he wanted. Haknyeon had the money to buy a pair of shoes for everyday of the week. Sunwoo couldn’t. It took him months to save up the money for these shoes because he always gave most of his paychecks to his parents, but Haknyeon knew how hard it was for him. Haknyeon wouldn’t make fun of him or call him poor like Eric or Hyunjoon would have if they were there.

Sunwoo was happy Haknyeon was there with him and not his old friends.

“Red is definitely your color,” Haknyeon stated, bringing over one of the shoes that was on display. The loud rap music playing through the speakers almost made Sunwoo unable to hear what he had said.

“I kind of liked the orange ones,” Sunwoo replied, pointing to the orange colored ones.

Haknyeon pouted. “You’d look good with these, though,” he said. “Since they’re for soccer, you should totally get the red ones! They match with your jersey colors!”

“Isn’t it took much red?” Sunwoo asked. “I’d look like a strawberry.”

“Strawberries are cute, though,” Haknyeon said. “Get the red ones. Trust me, you’ll look best in these.”

Sunwoo pondered for a moment. His eyes went from the two different pairs of shoes in front of him, and he nodded. “Okay, red it is,” he said, going over to the designated shelf and pulling out a box in his shoe size.

Haknyeon followed him over to the cashier, and Sunwoo was actually quite surprised that there wasn’t a line in front of them.

The cashier was a woman a couple years older than them, maybe about the same age as Sunwoo’s Younghoon hyung. She looked at the two boys and smiled as Sunwoo placed the box down.

“I’ll pay,” Haknyeon said, already pulling out his wallet from his back pocket.

Sunwoo’s eyes widened. “No, hyung, we came here because I had the money to pay for the shoes, remember?”

“But I want to pay,” Haknyeon insisted, and Sunwoo shook his head, passing over the money to the cashier.

“You guys are very cute together,” the woman stated, causing Sunwoo to blush.

He immediately shook his hands and head simultaneously. “No, no, we’re not—“

“Thank you. It means a lot,” Haknyeon cut him off, grinning at the cashier.

As she put out the change and receipt, Sunwoo grabbed it, said a quiet “thank you” as he was still blushing, grabbed the bag, and left with Haknyeon.

“Have a nice day!” the cheerful cashier said behind them as the two headed towards the door, but Sunwoo couldn’t respond due to the lump in his throat and his still very red face.

“Is there anywhere else you want to go while we’re here?” Haknyeon asked.

Sunwoo took a minute to put his new shoes in his backpack. “Well, my parents would kill me if they found out I skipped school, so we can’t go home now. I guess we have to stay here…” He thought out loud. “Are you hungry, hyung? We could eat.”

And that’s how the next few days went: they skipped school everyday to go do things they’ve never done together. On Tuesday, they went mini golfing (with Sunwoo’s money because he playfully threatened to leave Haknyeon there and go home if he didn’t let him pay). On Wednesday, they went to the arcade, but their time together had to be cut short because Sunwoo had a longer shift at work that day (and Sunwoo swore he could’ve beaten Haknyeon’s Pac-Man high score if he had a couple more minutes to play). On Thursday, they went to the local zoo (where Haknyeon snuck in some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the monkeys—it was a bet he lost to Sunwoo—and almost got the two of them kicked out).

Both the boys knew the school would have contacted their parents at least once by this point due to their sudden absences, but Haknyeon’s parents were too busy to answer phone calls from the school, and Sunwoo’s parents weren’t, so he avoided them everyday, until Friday morning.

Sunwoo couldn’t take his mind off of Haknyeon on the way home that morning because of the night before. The rush of adrenaline he felt as they ran away from the zoo’s security team and the happiness he felt being so close to Haknyeon whenever they hid behind trees made him feel so giddy that he thought nothing would affect his mood.

But he was clearly wrong because as soon as he opened the front door, he came face to face with his mother who was pacing back and forth with a phone in her hand.

“The school called, honey. Three times. They said you haven’t been at school since Monday,” she said. Sunwoo’s heart dropped.

“Yeah,” Sunwoo replied. He shrugged his shoulders which he then realized he probably shouldn’t have done.

“What have you been doing? Who or what is more important than school?” His mom’s voice got louder. Sunwoo hated it when he got yelled at. He hated it more than anything.

“I’ve been hanging out with someone,” he said. There was no point in lying anymore, and he knew that.

His mom’s angry look turned into an excited one immediately. “Oh, gosh, is it a girl? You have a girlfriend?” She asked, clearly excited by the thought of Sunwoo seeing a girl all this time, which made Sunwoo confused as to why it would make her not mad about him skipping school anymore.

“No, mom, I don’t have a fucking girlfriend.” Sunwoo glared at his mom, which he would have never done in any other circumstance.

“Language, Sunwoo,” his mom said sternly, her voice then showing worry. “What has gotten into you?”

“Mom, can I just go? Hyung is waiting for me.” Sunwoo said, grabbing his house key from the table next to them.

“Your hyung? Who?” His mom asked, and Sunwoo was already opening the door.

“Haknyeon hyung, and for your information, he’s more important than any girl would ever be to me,” Sunwoo said. He looked his mom in the eyes for a second before leaving the house.

Sunwoo stormed off to his hyung, immediately grabbing the older boy’s hand and dragging him onto the sidewalk. Sunwoo turned to look back at his house. His mom was standing there, staring back at her son.

He had left the door open so his mom could see him and Haknyeon holding hands.

Sunwoo was walking so fast that Haknyeon was having trouble keeping up.

“Sunwoo, please remember that you’re the only athlete here. Slow down,” Haknyeon said, but Sunwoo’s grip on Haknyeon’s hand was too tight for him to free himself.

“Sunwoo, listen to me,” Haknyeon’s voice got quieter, realizing Sunwoo wouldn’t calm down if someone began to yell at him.

“Sunwoo, stop,” Haknyeon whispered, and Sunwoo did as he was told. “Come here.”

Sunwoo stood still. He felt his face grow hot, and he absolutely hated himself for it. Sunwoo stepped over to Haknyeon, looking down at his feet.

“I’m sorry, hyung,” he said.

“Don’t be sorry,” Haknyeon whispered. He gently pulled Sunwoo towards him so Sunwoo’s head was now laying on his shoulder. “I should be the one who’s sorry. I got you into this. You shouldn’t be skipping school with me.”

Sunwoo detached himself from Haknyeon. “It’s not your fault, hyung. Really.”

“Is your mom mad?” Haknyeon asked, and Sunwoo shook his head. They began walking again, and Sunwoo put his hands in his pockets as they did.

“No. I don’t think she is, but she might be when I come home later.”

“Oh,” Haknyeon said. “Does she know you’re…”

Sunwoo looked over at Haknyeon with confusion on his face. “That I’m what?”

“You know, that you like boys,” Haknyeon said so simply that Sunwoo felt like choking right then and there.

“You… hyung, you knew—” Sunwoo started, his face feeling a million times hotter than it had before.

“By the way you look at me sometimes, it would be impossible for me to not know,” Haknyeon smiled.

Sunwoo didn’t say anything at first. Thoughts were racing through his head as his footsteps copied Haknyeon’s at the same steady pace. “I’m bi, just so you know. Not… yeah.”

He was scared to look at Haknyeon for many reasons. He was scared that Haknyeon would treat him differently, that Haknyeon would never talk to him again, that Haknyeon would tell everyone he knew.

He shut his eyes for a moment as he felt his throat getting tight. Haknyeon must have then noticed how frightened Sunwoo looked, so he slowly wrapped his arm around Sunwoo’s waist.

“I didn’t mean to force you to tell me. If you weren’t ready—” Haknyeon started, but Sunwoo cut him off.

“No, don’t worry, hyung. I had to tell you eventually.” Sunwoo gulped and opened his eyes, looking over at his hyung‘s hand on his waist. His hand—which was very obviously shaking—pulled Haknyeon’s hand off his waist, and before Haknyeon could apologize for holding him that way, Sunwoo intertwined his hand in Haknyeon’s. He smiled at their hands, not knowing that Haknyeon was smiling at him too.

“I feel better now that you know,” Sunwoo said shakily.

Sunwoo was about to come up with an excuse to rush off somewhere for a minute and talk to the genie about how he thinks he knew what he wanted to wish for something, but Haknyeon squeezed his hand, asking if he wanted to go to the movies.

When they were finally at the movie theater, Haknyeon told Sunwoo to wait by the door while he bought their tickets, and as if someone had read his thoughts, the genie appeared right before him.

“Oh, you again,” Sunwoo said quietly. There were lots of people nearby, not to mention there wasn’t a long line, so Haknyeon wouldn’t take too long.

“Yes, me again! I’m still waiting for you to use your last wish!” The genie exclaimed, making Sunwoo almost shush him until he remembered no one else could hear the genie but him. “I was starting to think you forgot about me.”

“I’m going through a lot, okay?” Sunwoo replied, sighing. He leaned against the wall so he could see where Haknyeon was. Haknyeon happened to look over at the exact same time, and he happily waved at Sunwoo. Sunwoo returned the smile and motioned for Haknyeon to focus on what he was doing again.

“Ugh, teenagers,” the genie rolled his eyes. “Just come up with something now. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it is. It’s not everyday I get a chance to get a wish granted,” Sunwoo said. Haknyeon was coming over now, so whether the genie said something back or not, Sunwoo didn’t hear it.

“I didn’t know if you liked butter on your popcorn, so I just got this. Is this alright?” Haknyeon asked, offering Sunwoo the bucket of popcorn.

“It’s perfect, hyung. Thank you,” Sunwoo smiled, and when they were about to start walking, Sunwoo heard Eric’s voice.

Sunwoo hadn’t seen or heard from Eric ever since he told Eric to never talk to him again.

“And so I told her that if she thought pineapple belongs on pizza, she’s a—oh, Sunwoo! Dude, what’s up?” Eric shouted, and Sunwoo didn’t want to turn around, but he couldn’t show him he was weak.

Eric wasn't alone; Hyunjoon and a couple other boys Sunwoo recognized from their school were with him, too. “I thought I told you to never talk to me again.”

“Sunwoo, don’t,” Haknyeon whispered, already turning away from Eric and his group of friends.

“Chill, Sunwoo. I just asked what was up,” Eric said, putting his hand out for a handshake, but Sunwoo just stared at him. Eric seemed to be doing just fine without him. He wasn’t hurting like Sunwoo was.

“Let’s go,” Haknyeon said, his voice a little louder than before. He intertwined his hand with Sunwoo’s and pulled him away from Eric and the others.

“Oh, cool. I’ll see you at school, I guess?” Eric shouted. “That is, if you didn’t already drop out.”

Sunwoo wasn't bothered by what Eric said, but the fact that he tried talking to Sunwoo as if nothing had happened did hurt.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Haknyeon said. “Don’t feel bad that he replaced us. We were too good for him anyways. Now, wipe that frown off your face. I want to see your beautiful smile again.”

Sunwoo looked over at Haknyeon with a smile on his face. “Did you just call me beautiful?”

“No. I called your smile beautiful.” Haknyeon pulled Sunwoo closer. “But you’re more beautiful.”

And with that, Sunwoo couldn’t stop smiling, even if he wanted to.

After the movie, they were now sitting at a table right outside the place that sold milkshakes—the one Sunwoo could never remember the name of. The last time Sunwoo was there was when Eric came to buy a milkshake, and Sunwoo found the genie’s lamp.

The genie’s lamp.

Sunwoo wanted to use his third wish to make something between him and Haknyeon but he didn’t know what to do, so that didn’t work. Maybe he and Haknyeon weren’t meant to be. Maybe this was a cruel way of the universe telling him that he never had a chance with Haknyeon.

But maybe it meant something else, that Sunwoo didn’t need his third wish to be with Haknyeon.

Everytime he was sure that he knew what to wish for, Haknyeon came by and did it without Sunwoo wishing for it. It had to mean something.

He had to ask. He had to know how Haknyeon felt about him, even if it hurt him.

“Hyung?” Sunwoo paused for a short moment, waiting for Haknyeon to let him know he was listening, but Haknyeon didn’t say a word. He simply nodded his head in Sunwoo’s direction. “Do you like me?”

Haknyeon looked at Sunwoo with a grin on his face. “I thought it was obvious that I do.”

And Sunwoo wasn’t sure if it was the way Haknyeon smiled at him or the fact that his heart was beating faster than it ever had before, but his mind was telling him to kiss him, so before he knew it, he was pressing his lips onto Haknyeon’s.

Sunwoo wanted nothing more than to run his hands through Haknyeon’s hair and kiss him harder, but instead, he placed his hands around Haknyeon’s face and slowly pulled away. He gasped as soon as he did, his hands covering his mouth which was now wide open in shock.

“Hyung, I-I didn’t… I should’ve asked—” Sunwoo stuttered, worry obvious in his voice.

“It’s okay,” Haknyeon said, moving Sunwoo’s hands out of the way and leaning forward to kiss Sunwoo again. “I didn’t ask to kiss you when we were in the school bathroom either.”

“I like you, hyung,” Sunwoo said shyly. His heart was beating fast, and he really hoped Haknyeon couldn’t hear this heart beating by this point.

“I know,” Haknyeon said with a smile, and Sunwoo knew that if Haknyeon smiled at him just one more time, his heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

Sunwoo stood up. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move, hyung.” He headed for the milkshake place, and when he was sure he was out of Haknyeon’s sight, he rushed into the alley next to it.

The old cardboard box was lying there; it looked the same it had when Sunwoo first saw it.

Sunwoo pulled out the genie lamp from his backpack (which he had told Haknyeon he brought because he wanted to do school work) and placed it in the box.

“So,” he started, playing with the zipper on his jacket. “I figured out what I want my third wish to be.”

Sunwoo thought he would have to repeat himself, but the genie appeared only seconds after that with a huge sigh of relief.

“Finally!” The genie shouted excitedly. “What is it?”

“I wish for a bouquet of flowers,” Sunwoo answered, and the genie’s shoulders dropped.

“Flowers? After all this time, all you want are flowers?”

“I know I said I wanted it to be something really important and special, but…” Sunwoo looked away from the genie for a moment. “I thought Haknyeon hyung was my third wish. I thought I had to get help from some magical creature to make him love me, but… but I didn’t, so yes. Yes, I’m just wishing for flowers.”

The genie looked at the boy in shock for a moment before shaking his head. “Alright, then, your wish is my command.”

“Wait!” Sunwoo said a bit too loudly. “Before you’re gone forever, I, um, I want to thank you for everything, really. You helped me a lot, so thank you.”

“My pleasure, kid,” the genie bowed, and when he did, he disappeared, leaving a bouquet of flowers on the ground in front of Sunwoo.

Sunwoo looked over at the cardboard box against the wall, and sure enough, the lamp was gone now. He liked to think it relocated where someone who needed the genie would find it like he had.

He picked up the flowers and noticed the red bow holding the flowers together had cursive lettering on it. “For My Haknyeon Hyung,” the letters read, and Sunwoo thought Haknyeon would love his gift.

And Sunwoo was right because when he walked back over to Haknyeon, holding out the flowers to him, he knew he had never seen Haknyeon so happy.

“Oh, God, Sunwoo!” Haknyeon had the biggest and brightest smile on his face. “Sunwoo, how did you know these were my favorite?”

“Magic.”


End file.
